Heavy Saddlery And Harness Machine Manuals Wanted

[Singermania]

.

HI,

I'm Steve Bonnett of Bundaberg, Australia, my wife and I are building a saddlery and harness machine collection/museum and presently have around 75 machines on show. We have probably the biggest Pearson no 6 collection with a dozen machines manufactured in Britian, France and Germany as well as pretty much every part and most of the accessories. There are also Koch, Champion, Singer, Adler, Randall, Drossner and so on machines. We have been able to make available foc the Pearson no 6, Singer 45K, Singer 132K6, Champion, Adler Durkopp 20 series and BUSMC Pilot and A1 manuals.

However..... we desparately need more, the search is on for other Champion manuals, the Landis 1, 3 and 16 manuals, the Randall manuals, Union Lockstitch and National Harness Stitcher manuals. I know many can be purchased however our funds are drying up rapidly so we're asking for some help now. Old manuals can be posted or if scanned can be emailed.

We seek.. the workshop, parts and operators manuals.

Also anyone that would feel comfortable offering old machines that may be surplus to their requirements at modest prices pls contact me here or on stevebonnett at dodo dot com dot au

I would like to make special thanks to Ralph in the US, Jim in Australia and Les in the UK for their selfless assistance.

Best Regards Steve Bonnett

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[Singermania]

HI All, I'm also casting around for ideas for displays, for example should machines be grouped by.... manufacturer, by year, by condition etc. What items of interest would be good to have around the machines... photos? needles? people working with them? accessories? What safeguards should I put into place to stop people damaging, stealing or sewing their finger to a peice of leather?

If you read this item pls don't just pass over it, but take some time and give me your ideas.

Regards STeve

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

Steve,

Your Welcome! That would be a great idea if we can have an archive for old manuals and documentation for old or hard to find sewing machines. That would make the forum much more resourceful and potentially increase our members. You should talk to administration about having an owners manual archive. I like the idea and could pitch in a couple of old manuals. I know what you are talking about manuals are expensive, if you are looking for a manual for an old Harness Stitcher be prepared to spend 40 dollars I did an got some plain decent quality copies not impressed by them but they work. As for as your collection of sewing machines I would group them by maker. All the Singers in one place all the Adlers in another. Start from the smallest to the biggest. I would have each machine ready to sew with material under the presser foot and about 6 inches sewn into the material already. That way the presser foot is all the way down and there is no real chance of someone hurting themselves or sewing their hands together. So have each machine threaded properly and put the right kind of material under the presser foot if its a Harness Stitcher then sew leather with it you get the point. You should have each machine ready like if you were going to sell it there is nothing more embarrassing than trying to give a demo of the machine performing and it won't work so have it ready all times. If you are serious about this I would make a small display case for each machines tools and accessories and tools necessary to make simple adjustments to it as well as change needles in it, and any other attachments for that machine. You can make these display boxes out of wood and a glass top but I would use plastic to keep things safe. In my opinion nothing compares to glass but you don't wont to compromise safety and child safety primarly. Always keep these display cases locked even with a small tiny little lock. If there's a lock there then people know not to open it. Nobody is going to try and break, cut or pick the lock in that kind of environment but if you leave it unlocked then people assume they can open it and that's when people start stealing when they have a chance too. I would also keep the manuals for the machines out for people to see them maybe not the originals but copies stapled together or neatly whole punched and in a binder. People like the history behind a machine sometimes more than the machine itself. So dig up all the history behind your machines, track serial numbers always document who and where you purchased the machine from, where was it used and what was it used for. Never give show or tell the price of the machines because they are in a museum and the whole point is that they are priceless. Unless its a customer then give him a price having all the history and documentation for each sewing machine will increase your price in that type of enviroment. Invite your local schools out to your place and show the kids what you have, schools love to have these kind of field trips here in the US that's a good starting point. Always protect your investment so don't give people a chance to steal. Steve also have pictures of the new machines people are using today and the way people are changing the industry. Strees the fact that these machines are becoming obsolete give the younger generations reasons to appreciate the old iron plus it justifies you having all these sewing machines and people just don't think your crazy like me...just kidding. That's pretty much it Steve let me know if I can help you with anything else. I encourage everyone to share their old manuals with leather workers on this forum so lets get together and designate a place to store them.

Best regards,

Ralph

[Singermania]

HI Ralph,

Thanks so much for your reply, I noted quite a few things down. Really like the display case idea and have been checking out local auction houses for old shop stock, older the better, when I get out the Pearson attachments and parts to photograph for someone it reminds me how good they look all lined up. Especially the rein rounder attachment as theres a good 5 minute story about how to use it.

Originally I had the idea of the old manual archive stored here, however leatherworker would always be better known and so thats the best place for it, though I would still like to collect as many as possible in the meantime. Sometimes when I get a machine into the collection I spend hours on the net trying to find a manual, one tip is to write what you want in German or French etc so you get the search going there too. Recently found the Adler 20 series manuals on a German site, I'd been looking for a long time for them. Other manuals are still elusive like the BUSMC no 2 & 4 and sometimes in the Singer range the parts manual is available but there is not operator manua. Many other organisations have data banks of manuals and photos like ISMACS, however they all have the same ones or carry links to each others. Yet again there are many sights that claim to have manuals and lead you through a maze of sign ups and software deals and of course there is really nothing there at the end.

We mostly get small groups coming for a look thru word of mouth, a recent visits came from the owner and trainers, Begsy, Dave and Hank, from the Burrum river Saddlery School.

Haven't had any luck with this posting re manuals yet, but am hopeful that someone will remember a manual in a drawer somewhere and send a copy to us.

Regards Steve

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

Steve,

What manual do you need the most right now, I am going to be visiting a friend this week and he has a handful of manuals for the old leather harness stitchers let me know which one you want ill pick it up from him scan it and send it your way. The reason why I ask for one is because he will only let me take one at a time and he lives very far away from me. He doesn't have a computer or anything like that. Plus I don't want to abuse the friendship and take all the manuals all at once.

Ralph

Did you check out those diagrams of the Cyclone pretty neat right.

[bruce johnson]

I am not sure if they will have all you are looking for, but ShopTalk has a pretty extensive collection of manual reprints for sale. Here's a link - ShopTalk

[Singermania]

Thanks Bruce, I'll take a look.

HI Ralph, yes got the images thank you. Looks like your taste and mine in machines is similar, I would think any manual that you don't have that interests you would be the one I would love the most. Obviously if your friend has a cyclone operators manual then grab that. After that a Union Lockstich, after that Landis 1,3 or 16, after that a National or Goodyear Harnesss Machine.

Regards STeve

I am not sure if they will have all you are looking for, but ShopTalk has a pretty extensive collection of manual reprints for sale. Here's a link - ShopTalk

Hi Bruce, thanks for that, I'lll take a look and see what I can find. Still hoping to get some free ones if poss though.

Regards Steve

[RoyalLeatherDesigns]

Steve,

There has to be an operators manual for the Cyclone I would think but then again in the parts manual it shows you how to thread the machine so that might me it idk I will try looking for it I am pretty sure that Campbell does not have it because when I asked for it they sent me the ones I gave you and I got some from Proleptic and got the same think when I get out of the hospital I will hunt it down and should know if there was one even made. I can get you the Union Lockstitch Operator manual as well as the Landis 1, 3 and 16 in a couple of weeks. I will send them ground tho I don't have a scanner but I do have access to a big copy machine so ill make copies as well as the Randall/ Campbell Lockstitch. I know the National he does not have the manual for because i just called him or the Goodyear one. Which ones do you have that you can send to me?

Best regards,

Ralph

[Singermania]

Hi Ralph, just emailed you some of my links where I get manuals and other interesting bits and pieces. Will follow up with the Pearson no 6 and Singer 97.

Steve

[Singermania]

You hear stories that some machines never had operator manuals, however I'm not so sure. For years people said there was no manual for the Singer 132K6 and the Pearson no 6 cos they were leased machines, however eventually I got them from Engalnd and now they are on the net. So I'd think that there was probably a manual for the Cyclone, just have to track it down... or there may be a cardboard fold that has basic instructions. If you can get the Landis manuals and Union Lockstitch that'd be excellent... however if I can get them on my computer earlier I'll let you know. Ronn on leatherpros hasn't answered me yet.

Regards STeve

[Singermania]

HI, I've just thought of another couple of machines that I haven't seen a manual for, there's the Adler 5 series, they are very similar to the Singer 45K series machines. I wonder whether someone like Tor might know where I might find one. Also have never seen a manual for the Singer and Adler plonkies, that is to say the darners.

[Hansons Carriage]

Steve, did you get the Landis #1 manual yet? If not, I do have one here I could scan and email to you. John

[Mike Loughlin]

Hi steve Would it be possible to get a copy of the Pilot Manual? I have one in excellent condition but no information about it. My email address is mloughlin2011@btinternet.com if you can help. Many Thanks, Mike Loughlin